ROME - Italian Defence Ministry sources are hailing the arrival at last of the first parts of Italy’s long promised SAMP/T missile defence system in Eastern Europe on its way to Ukraine after several months of postponement. The antiaircraft system was reported to be travelling through Poland this Friday, but this only occurs months after Italy promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the defence weapon, said the sources.

 In April, in response to Zelensky’s ongoing appeal to NATO members for antiaircraft resources, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced the transferral of one of their five SAMP/T systems from Kuwait to Ukraine. The weapon in question is a ground-to-air missile (GTAM), used for the interception of enemy projectiles before they reach their target, and at the time was residing in Kuwait to counter ISIS threats. Developed by the European consortium Eurosam, who are the principle constructors of defence technology on the continent, the missile could be considered even more advanced than the American ‘Patriot’ system, known for its use in the defence of Israel against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. According to Ukrainian sources, SAMP/T can intercept ten targets at once, and is the only European-made system that can take down ballistics. 

 A sophisticated piece of kit, the SAMP/T system’s promised transferral to Ukraine was a significant addition to Crosetto’s ninth weaponry package for Zelensky, written into decree in June. One had been sent previously in February 2023, but soon became unusable due to technical faults and resources running dry. But delays soon got in the way of Crosetto’s promises, with a high demand on raw materials in the defence industry making it difficult to replace and renew parts before the missile system’s move to Eastern Europe.

 But it was not just resource issues delaying SAMP/T’s arrival; in an EU Defence Ministers Conference at the end of August, Crosetto reported that Italian manufacturers taking overly lengthy summer holidays had contributed to the late arrival. Aware of the urgency of Zelensky’s appeal, Crosetto anxiously placed the blame on some workers' enthusiasm for a long vacation: ‘I am currently in disputes with Italian companies because I have to deliver a Samp-T defence system to Ukraine, and the Italian manufacturer that is responsible for fixing it in August was closed for holidays’ (‘Sto litigando con le aziende italiane perché devo consegnare un sistema Samp-T di difesa all’Ucraina e l’azienda italiana che deve sistemarlo ad agosto era chiusa per ferie’).

 Then, in a speech at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group conference in early September, held at the American airbase Ramstein in South Germany, Crosetto subtly admitted further delays in delivering his promised weapon: ‘The Samp-T system we delivered and the one we hope to deliver as soon as possible have allowed the Ukrainians to defend themselves against Russian missile attacks’ (‘Il sistema Samp-T che abbiamo consegnato e quello che spero consegneremo nel più breve tempo possibile hanno consentito agli ucraini di difendersi dagli attacchi missilistici russi’).

 So, official statements that the weapon is currently in transfer through Poland, received by news agency ANSA on Sept. 26, will perhaps bring to an end months of waiting for the Ukrainian military. But as war rages on in Eastern Europe, Zelensky only amplifies his call for the defence systems that seem increasingly difficult to source.

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